SCOOP: The First 100 Cases of the Copyright Claims Board

As of the date of the writing of this SCOOP column (August 13, 2022), 100 cases have been filed during the first two months of the Copyright Claims Board (CCB). Most of the claims filed so far have been without the assistance of an attorney, and many of them concern photos that were allegedly taken by the claimant and then used by the respondents for various purposes, usually marketing, advertising, and other forms of promotion. Some of the other cases include:

• A claim that one’s video of their dog was used on a popular TikTok account
• A claim against popular musician Billie Eilish contending that she and Finneas O’Connell stole the “rhythmic theme” of another musician’s song
• One Etsy creator accusing another Etsy creator of stealing their digital paper designs
• A whole slew of claims by a sporting event licensor against small restaurants and bars for airing certain sporting events without a license

Several of the claims clearly are not within the jurisdiction of the CCB either because they involve trademark, licensing, or other copyright-adjacent matters and are not matters of copyright infringement. Also, to date, no claims against libraries or any other person or entity engaged in educational activities have been filed.

The prevailing concern of those who advise libraries on matters of copyright generally and fair use specifically is that the CCB will be used by “copyright trolls” or others who may be looking to target the exercise of fair use. Looking at the corpus of the 100 cases filed so far, it is hard to predict what, if any, impact there will be upon the current interpretation and application of fair use. While we continue to follow the claims that are filed and their outcome, libraries should educate themselves about the CCB and the options available to them to either weigh on a case-by-case basis to proceed before the CCB should a claim be filed against them or opt out of the CCB preemptively. We have provided some preliminary guidance on the Atla Copyright LibGuide; however, libraries are encouraged to consult with their own counsel before making any decision on opting out.

Additional Reading

• Law professor Eric Goldman took a look at the first month of filings before the CCB: https://blog.ericgoldman.org/archives/2022/07/a-first-look-at-copyright-claims-board-ccb-filings.htm
• A case of a copyright troll or a fake rightsholder has already emerged in the early days of the CCB: https://torrentfreak.com/sky-imposter-abuses-copyright-claims-board-to-target-pirate-streaming-app-220712/
• The Electronic Frontier Foundation talks about why opting out may be best. https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2022/06/copyright-small-claims-quasi-court-opens-heres-why-many-defendants-will-opt-out

The SCOOP, Scholarly COmmunication and Open Publishing, is a monthly column published to inform Atla members of recent developments, new resources, or interesting stories from the realm of scholarly communication and open access publishing.